EcoBoost

Ford is enjoying a remarkable run of success with its EcoBoost family of engines, and there are undoubtedly many more yet to come. This press release reminds us that the ultimate success is all about software – it’s not just about slapping a turbo on the side of the engine. That approach doesn’t maximize power or fuel economy, much fewer emissions. Times have changed.

Click on the image to the right for a super high-res image of the EcoBoost 3.5 liter DOHC twin-turbo V-6 – an engine we’d very much like to see in a future Mustang.

Today, Kluzner designs software for onboard fuel system diagnostics on Ford vehicles sold worldwide. Kluzner holds more than 20 patents on onboard diagnostics.

“During my work for the military, I was trained very early on how to establish and maintain consistent product performance,” said Kluzner, who was born Mikhail Igor Kluzner and has lived in the United States since 1990. “This became part of my engineering DNA.

“The same process for analyzing key physical relationships works for what we do today in engine combustion, catalyst chemistry and mechanics,” he added. “These are all part of Ford’s software engineering expertise.”

Kluzner, who began his career with the company in 1996, is one of dozens of in-house powertrain control software engineers at Ford. A large part of these engineers’ jobs is to continually improve and reinvent the control strategies on Ford’s award-winning EcoBoost® engines.

Other engineers in the group have backgrounds that include designing software to detect damage to heat tiles on the international Space Shuttle, as well as work in particle physics.

The importance of these software engineers to the global expansion of the EcoBoost franchise is hard to overestimate. The software they are working on must manage and optimize increasingly sophisticated hardware in the EcoBoost engines to make Ford vehicles more powerful, cleaner and fuel efficient.

“No doubt, turbocharging, direct injection and cam timing hardware are key ingredients of Ford’s EcoBoost recipe, but the secret sauce is the software,” said David Bell, Ford global boost system controls engineer. “The hardware existed, but without our unique software and engine tuning, EcoBoost wouldn’t have been as successful with consumers.”

Secret sauce for EcoBoost

Ford’s EcoBoost engines faced several challenges when the technology first launched in 2009. One was overcoming consumers’ resistance to radically smaller engines with fewer cylinders. Another was the technical difficulty of making powerful engines while still meeting tightening emissions regulations.

Ford’s team of in-house software control engineers patented software tricks that exploit hardware advances – like the turbochargers and direct fuel injection systems – like no other car company in the world. In fact, Ford has earned or has patents pending for several of its software control technologies.

The result is a new generation of smaller, more power-dense engines that deliver the fuel economy of smaller engines while minimizing or eliminating the traditional shortcomings of turbocharged engines, including turbo lag (the delay between a driver stepping on the accelerator and the engine responding with the desired power).

“Our control software has helped us deliver a combination of power, torque, driveability and efficiency like no other automaker in the world,” said Bell. “Sometimes, the software helps anticipate demands for power before the driver even fully depresses the accelerator.”

For example, in conditions such as an anticipated transmission shift, the software tells the engine to close the throttle slightly and leave the turbo wastegate closed to maintain boost pressure ahead of an upshift. The customer never sacrifices performance.

Demand booming

Without the software engineers’ work, EcoBoost could not have succeeded in the marketplace. But by offering increased fuel economy with no zap to performance, EcoBoost has been an unqualified success. Customers are snapping up EcoBoost-equipped vehicles as fast as Ford can make them. Sales of vehicles with EcoBoost are approaching 70,000 units per month worldwide.

EcoBoost-equipped vehicles are gaining share in the U.S. market. The take rate for EcoBoost on F-150 trucks is 42 percent, on Escape it is 89 percent and on Fusion, 52 percent.

A fifth EcoBoost variant, a 1.5-liter engine, was recently introduced to meet growing demand for powerful, more efficient vehicles globally. The award-winning 1.0-liter EcoBoost, already available in Europe, will be available this fall on the 2014 Ford Fiesta.

Here’s a surprise in this morning’s news for North American ST enthusiasts: an entire upgrade program in the United Kingdom for ST owners, in cooperation with Mountune. Installed officially at a Ford dealer, with warranty and emissions legality. And Ford UK has offered these types of upgrades before in earlier ST models – this is the norm.

This raises a question: where is a similar upgrade program in North America? Ford introduced several Focus ST parts at last year’s SEMA event, and also made reference to a dealer-installed power upgrade. It hasn’t been seen or heard of since.

We can hardly expect a North American presence for Mountune. But if Ford is talking about a performance upgrade kit, as well as a range of parts, they should have been made available when they were shown at SEMA, not a year later.

There is one interesting tidbit here: that Ford is willing to warrant an increase in torque from 270 lb-ft (360Nm) to 300 lb-ft (400 Nm). That speaks well of the stock transmission’s capabilities for more.

The packages are developed by race engine and road-car performance specialist Mountune, and boost output from the Focus ST’s 2.0-litre EcoBoost engine to 275PS – 10PS more than a Porsche Boxster which costs £15,000 more (£38,237).

Even the legendary Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 would be left with a rear view of the Mountune-upgraded Focus ST, which can sprint from 0-62mph in less than six seconds – more than half second faster than the standard Focus ST.

Ford is also offering an official Mountune upgrade for the Fiesta ST, which will increase maximum power to 215PS*, enabling 0-62mph acceleration in 6.7sec, compared with 6.9sec on the factory model – faster than a £35,865 Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 AMG Sport.

Any of the UK’s 120 Mountune-appointed Ford dealers will be able to fit the upgrade – in under 60 minutes for the Fiesta ST, and less than 90 minutes for the Focus ST. Both are fully compatible with the Ford warranty, meaning Mountune modified vehicles continue to be covered against mechanical failure for three years or 60,000 miles from the original date of purchase.

“Ford’s ST models already deliver blistering performance – for these Mountune upgrades we have squeezed out every last drop of fun and served it on a plate to the fans that are as passionate about performance as we are,” said Tyrone Johnson, Ford Team RS engineering manager.

The Focus ST Mountune upgrade, at £1,225 for silver and £1,275 for black, still means the boosted Focus costs less than a standard Volkswagen Golf GTi. The Fiesta ST Mountune upgrade costs £599**, with the finished Fiesta costing less than both the standard Peugeot 208 GTi and Renaultsport Clio 200 Turbo.

“We worked hand-in-hand with Ford engineers to deliver what we believe is the best bang-for-buck value on the market,” said David Moore, Mountune marketing manager.

Unfortunately, per the SEMA picture below, the engine will not fit conventionally into a street Mustang’s engine compartment: the placement of the turbos and intercooler are totally wrong. How this engine could be used in a future Mustang is up in the air. The turbos would have to be drawn up much closer to the engine. But then the fuse box would be directly on top of the left turbo, and the air intake on the right. That wouldn’t meet production standards, so the use of this engine as it is designed is impossible.

Ford Press Release and images:

Ford Mustang Cobra Jet Concept Goes Twin-Turbo for SEMA Debut

New Cobra Jet concept adopts turbocharging technology from production EcoBoost® engines in the quest for ever more performance

Since its 2008 debut, the Ford Mustang Cobra Jet has been the most successful production-based drag racer

Ford Racing engineers have continuously improved and evolved the Cobra Jet to keep it at the head of its class

In the perpetual quest to stay ahead of the competition, for the first time ever Ford Racing has equipped its factory-built turn-key drag racer with a turbocharged engine, adopting the same award-winning technology found on road-going EcoBoost engines.

Winning heritage

When the original Mustang Cobra Jet drag racers rolled out of the Mustang factory in 1968, they relied on 7.0-liter V8 engines with massive four-barrel carburetors to propel them down the strip.

“When a new generation of Cobra Jets arrived four decades later, they immediately began winning with a modern, fuel-injected 5.4-liter V8 topped with a belt-driven supercharger,” recalls Jesse Kershaw, Ford drag racing competition manager. “Over the past four years, the Cobra Jet has gone on to become both a fan and competitor favorite, the most successful late-model vehicle in drag racing.”

“Racing pre-dates Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford himself raced the 999 and won in 1901 to generate interest for the new company,” said Jamie Allison, director of Ford Racing Technologies. “We haven’t stopped since.

“We’ve competed in almost every category of auto racing, from deserts to road courses to ovals and drag strips over the past 111 years, often with cars and trucks based on our production models, including the Mustang,” Allison added.

In 2011, the Mustang GT’s all-new 5.0-liter V8 found a home in the Cobra Jet, both with and without a supercharger.

“Despite its smaller displacement, the improved breathing of the 5.0-liter with its twin independent variable camshaft timing and Boss 302 cylinder heads provided comparable performance while showcasing the high technology available in street Mustangs today,” said Rob Deneweth, Cobra Jet powertrain development engineer.

“Ever since we relaunched the Cobra Jet in 2008, we’ve continuously evolved the engine to be more optimized for drag racing and produce more power for its NHRA class.”

While superchargers provide instant on-demand power, they can also sap a lot of power especially at high boost levels. The 2.9-liter blower used on the 2013 Cobra Jet uses as much as 100hp to drive the supercharger.. That’s power no longer available for acceleration.

Two turbochargers, no waiting

Fortunately, every internal combustion engine has a plentiful source of energy that normally goes to waste right out the exhaust pipe. Turbochargers harness the thermal and kinetic energy in the exhaust gases to drive turbines and compressors that force more air into the engine for a big increase in power without most of the parasitic losses of a supercharger.

“Ford has embraced turbocharging technology and a lot of our production engineers are working with the technology on a daily basis, so we have a lot of knowledge,” added Deneweth. “So we decided to apply that knowledge to the Mustang Cobra Jet to showcase what our engineers and suppliers know how to do.”

Turbocharger design and release engineer Dave Born joined the Cobra Jet team after working on the 3.5-liter EcoBoost® V6 for the F-150 to help make this concept a reality. “When done right, turbocharging is just as good as or better than supercharging,” Born confirms.

“To overcome the biggest perceived drawback of turbocharging – the lag – we’ve selected the smallest possible turbos that will give us the airflow we need,” he added. “We’ve also got some other enhancements to help improve the responsiveness; we have very low inertia and very low internal friction.”

NHRA competition rules for the stock classes Cobra Jet races in require parts like turbochargers to be derived from production components. Borg-Warner™ has supplied smaller, more efficient turbochargers based on the units used in the Focus ST for the Cobra Jet concept. Smaller than those found in most other drag racing applications, the turbine wheels are made from titanium aluminide that reduces the rotational inertia by 50 percent. Along with a shaft riding on low-friction ball bearings, the compressors can spin up to 150,000 rpm almost instantly.

The same integrated, electronically controlled wastegates used on production EcoBoost engines enable the turbos to keep spinning and generating the boost pressure needed for low elapsed times and high trap speeds at the strip.

One of the top reasons for a car company to go racing is the rapid learning curve it provides and the lessons that can be fed back into the vehicles customers drive every day.

“We’re already using ball bearings in the turbocharger of the 6.7-liter Power Stroke® diesel V8 in Super Duty trucks,” adds Born. “We’re also evaluating materials like the titanium aluminide for the turbine, and it could find its way into future production programs as the costs come down.”

New global Ford Racing livery

The Cobra Jet project car features its own unique take on the new global Ford Racing livery that is also highlighted at SEMA. The white body is accented with an asymmetric black and blue stripe running over the top of the car from bumper to bumper. The Cobra Jet’s flanks blend an upward sweeping version of the stripe with the traditional striking cobra head executed in black with blue accents.

Following the SEMA show, Ford Racing engineers including Deneweth and Born will continue to develop both the performance and durability of the twin-turbo Cobra Jet.

“For every Cobra Jet model we release, every powertrain goes through hundreds of hours of dyno testing and a minimum of 50 runs on the drag strip before we’ll sign off on the durability and capability of that engine and car,” adds Kershaw. “Like Ford vehicles for the street, we want to provide our racing customers with cars that are best-in-class, affordable and reliable.”

DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 19, 2012 – Ford’s highly successful, fuel-efficient EcoBoost® engine technology hit a big milestone recently with its 500,000th engine being produced just three years after its launch in 2009.

The 500,000th engine was fitted into a 2013 Ford Escape that rolled off the line at Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant.

The milestone is another step in the One Ford plan to be the undisputed industry fuel economy leader, with more segment fuel economy leaders than Toyota or any other manufacturer. By the end of next month, customers will be able to choose eight Ford-built vehicles that deliver 40 or more miles per gallon — double the number available last year and more than any other automaker. Ford also recently introduced the world’s most fuel efficient mid-size sedan with the Fusion hybrid, rated at 47 mpg city, 47 mpg highway and 47 mpg combined. The C-Max Hybrid is also rated at a combined 47 mpg, which beats the Toyota Prius v.

When EcoBoost launches on Fusion in South America early next year, the fuel-saving engine technology will be available in every region Ford serves.

In North America, EcoBoost sales make Ford the leader in gasoline turbo direct-injected engines in its core high-volume passenger vehicles, such as Escape, Fusion and F-150.

Ford’s global EcoBoost engine family includes the award-winning 1.0-liter three-cylinder, 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines, and the powerful 3.5-liter V6.

EcoBoost was introduced in July 2009 with the 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost engine in the 2010 Taurus SHO; 9,946 units were sold that year. 2010 saw EcoBoost sales increase to 15,117, while last year Ford sold 127,683 EcoBoost-equipped vehicles in the U.S.

By 2013, more than 90 percent of Ford’s North American lineup will be available with an EcoBoost engine. Today, Ford offers EcoBoost engines in 11 North American nameplates, with four more coming in 2013.

Engine control software the key Ford’s powertrains use hundreds of thousands of lines of computer code and related parameters that are adjusted to optimize the engine and transmission operation. It’s these processes that largely make up the EcoBoost patent contribution, and make Ford’s use of direct injection and turbocharging of its engines like no other automaker in the world.

Ford holds more than 125 patents on its EcoBoost engine technology, which uses turbocharging, direct gasoline injection and variable valve timing to boost fuel economy by about 20 percent without sacrificing performance.

Escape and Fusion sales get turbocharged The Ford Fusion and Ford Escape exemplify the trend at Ford of putting the technology to work in the most mainstream, high-volume vehicles. Fusion production will go from 0 percent EcoBoost-equipped for model year 2012 to 60 percent turbocharged EcoBoost for 2013. The new Escape features two EcoBoost engines, a 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter that will make up 90 percent of its expected sales volume.

In Europe, EcoBoost is beginning to build momentum as well. Ford plans to triple the production of its vehicles equipped with EcoBoost engines to approximately 480,000 in 2015, from 141,000 last year. More than 300,000 of that projected yearly output will be vehicles equipped with the new 1.0-liter EcoBoost.

“With the sharp increase in EcoBoost production in the Fusion and Escape – on top of the F-250 Super Duty Power Stroke® diesel – Ford will have the best-selling turbocharged sedan, SUV and pickup truck in North America,” said Robert Fascetti, director, Large Gas & Diesel Engine Engineering.

The limits for radical engine downsizing are undetermined. Ford plans on continuing to offer EcoBoost engines globally, including some innovative downsized engines. Ford has announced it will bring its award-winning EcoBoost 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine to North America next year.

After launching just this year, the Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost has already achieved nearly 30 percent of European Focus sales.

With the announcement at SEMA this week by Ford of their twin-turbo drag-racing Mustang, it’s time to remember that Ford looked at a twin-turbo production 5 liter engine once before. Not for off-road use like the drag racing Mustang, but for regular production use in the F-150 as a way of meeting emissions and mileage standards while producing exceptional power and towing capacity.

Meet the Ford Bobcat project, first shown in 2009. The code-name Bobcat engine is a very high-compression 5 liter modular V-8 with twin turbos and an unusual gasoline/E85 fuel system. The primary fuel system is port-injected gasoline. The Bobcat also uses a secondary direct injection system to inject varying amounts of ethanol directly into the combustion chamber, producing 500 horsepower and 750 pounds-feet of torque. All while meeting emissions and mileage targets. Twin top-mounted air-to-water intercoolers are also provided.

The objective of the project was to produce diesel-like torque and power from a gasoline engine, without the complexity and cost. The ethanol is stored in a second gas tank with a 10-gallon capacity. The drawback to the project was the ethanol itself. With ethanol projects bankrolled by Congress, with special political and financial considerations to farmers and refiners, ethanol initially looked good. However, even in 2009 the writing was on the wall that eventually ethanol would have to fall out of political favor and that heavy subsidies to farmers and producers would eventually end. And while Bobcat programming would vary the amount of ethanol depending on load, heavy towing and long trips would require very frequent ethanol fill-ups. From a pure ethanol fueling infrastructure that did not exist. If ethanol wasn’t available, the engine would only be able to produced reduced power.

So while the Bobcat engineering was solid, real-world practicalities eliminated any possibility of production.

The project was ultimately shelved in favor of the EcoBoost V-6 engine and a longer-term weight reduction program. As readers in 2012 know, the EcoBoost program has been a phenomenal success and a very clear differentiator for Ford.

Get ready for the next step in the EcoBoost revolution: this time a 1 liter 3 cylinder direct-injected turbocharged engine. It’s already rolling out in cars across Ford of Europe, and it’s coming to North America next year in a Fiesta.

And if you think it’s not of interest to performance enthusiasts, consider that in a Formula Ford chassis it set records on the Nurburgring circuit over the summer. That car did so well that Ford is even considering building a run of them for a race series. This is the same technology that is providing fuel economy and performance benefits in sizes ranging from 1 liters to 3.5… and perhaps one day even 5 liters. And regardless of engine size, every example is a fun to drive engine with surprising dynamics.

Ford C-MAX and Grand C-MAX models equipped with the 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine – the 2012 “International Engine of the Year” – go on sale in the UK this month priced from £17,695 and £19,795 respectively

Ford customers will have the option of purchasing a C-MAX and Grand C-MAX with either the 100 PS or the 125 PS versions of the 1.0-litre EcoBoost, this year’s “International Engine of the Year.”

The Ford C-MAX 1.0-litre EcoBoost delivers 55.4mpg and 117g/km CO2 across both power outputs, while the Grand C-MAX achieves 54.3mpg and 119g/km CO2.

“People love this engine – it puts a smile on your face when you drive and it’s amazingly fuel-efficient,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe. “It’s already very popular on the new Focus, so it makes a lot of sense to offer it in the C-MAX and Grand C-MAX as soon as possible.”

Ford has sold more than 27,000 C-MAX and Grand C-MAX cars in Britain since the latest versions were introduced in 2010; with the two models this year claiming Ford’s largest share of the compact multi-activity vehicle segment since the original C-MAX went on sale in 2003.

The three-cylinder 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine uses turbocharging, direct fuel injection and variable valve timing on both intake and exhaust to deliver the power of a larger engine with the fuel efficiency of a downsized unit.

Over 7,500 customers in Britain have ordered a Focus 1.0-litre EcoBoost since launch, with the new engine making up around 25 per cent of total orders.

Ford predicts that by 2015 more than half of the vehicles it produces for Europe will be powered by EcoBoost engines – which are also available in 1.6 and 2.0-litre displacements.

To coincide with the introduction of the 1.0-litre powertrain, a Titanium X series joins the C-MAX and Grand C-MAX ranges. Standard features include a panoramic roof, xenon headlamps with jet wash, partial leather seats, heated front seats, power driver seat, new style 17in alloy wheels and, in the five-seat C-MAX, a comfort rear seat system. This seating system offers the convenience of configurable rear seating to provide additional rear space and leg room.

The three-cylinder Ford 1.0-litre EcoBoost was recently named 2012 “International Engine of the Year”. The turbocharged, direction injection petrol engine is now available in the Ford Focus and coming soon in the B-MAX, new Fiesta and C-MAX

The one-of a-kind, road-legal version of the latest Formula Ford single-seat racer completed the lap in 7 minutes, 22 seconds to register the 11th fastest time ever on the circuit – a performance that puts it ahead of a host of supercars including the 600+ horsepower Lamborghini Aventador, Ferrari Enzo and Pagani Zonda.

“This little engine has people rubbing their eyes in disbelief,” said racing driver and course specialist Nick Tandy, 28, who completed the drive. “It’s simply astonishing that a 3-cylinder, one-litre engine can deliver that kind of performance.”

Ford engineers have led several months of work on the project to switch the Formula Ford’s usual 180 PS,1.6-litre EcoBoost power unit with a specially tuned 205 PS version of the company’s new global 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine, which was recently named “International Engine of the Year”.

The project team also modified the vehicle so it would be fully street legal for on-road use by fitting it with wheel covers, front and rear lights and indicators, aerodynamically designed wing mirrors and a horn. The car is fitted with a 6-speed manual gearbox and was driven on road-legal tyres.

The car’s unofficial top speed is expected to be 255.5 km/h (158.8 mph) with a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of less than four seconds. The vehicle completed the 20.832 km (12.94 mile) Nordschleife circuit at an average speed of 169 km/h (105 mph).

The 1.0-litre EcoBoost powered Formula Ford car beat previously recorded fastest times of many supercars including the 700 horsepower Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, the 660 horsepower Ferrari Enzo and the 602 horsepower Pagani Zonda. No other three- or even four-cylinder car has posted a faster time at the legendary circuit.

“We wanted to prove that size doesn’t matter by showing everyone what an amazingly capable engine we have developed in the 1.0-litre EcoBoost,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president of Marketing and Sales, Ford of Europe. “What better way than by beating some of the best supercars in the world on the Nordschleife, while using a fraction of the fuel.”

While the 1.0-litre EcoBoost-powered Formula Ford car isn’t available to buy, the Ford Focus equipped with this engine is already proving a success with customers around Europe. About 30 percent of new Focus buyers in recent months have opted for the 1.0-litre EcoBoost.

In the Focus, the 100 PS version 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine delivers 4.8 l/100 km (58.9 mpg), and the 125 PS model achieves 5 l/100 km (56.5 mpg).* The engine also will be available in the all-new Ford B-MAX, and C-MAX as well as the redesigned new Ford Fiesta coming later in 2012.

Earlier this year, a Ford Focus equipped with the 125 PS 1.0-litre EcoBoost set 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) speed world records at the CERAM test circuit in France.**

# # #

* All fuel consumption and CO2 emissions figures in g/km are from officially approved tests in accordance with EC Directive 93/116/EC. Fuel economy figures quoted are based on the European Fuel Economy Directive EU 80/1268/EEC and will differ from fuel economy drive cycle results in other regions of the world

** All records are subject to Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) homologation in Category B (series production cars), Group 1 (4-stroke engine), Class 5 (with engines of between 850-1000cc)

# # #

About Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 168,000 employees and about 65 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit http://corporate.ford.com/.

Ford of Europe is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 51 individual markets and employs approximately 66,000 employees. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford of Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 22 manufacturing facilities, including joint ventures. The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 – the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911.

With the new American CAFE rule of 54.5 MPG becoming law, the only way forward will be thru efficiency. In terms of engine design, aerodynamics, and weight. Ford’s 3 cylinder 1 liter EcoBoost engine will be seen in North America in an update next year to the Fiesta, and in the Focus after that. 30% of Ford Focus buyers in Europe are already choosing this engine over all other options.

Meanwhile, Ford continues to demonstrate the potential of this engine. This time at the Nurburgring where it set a phenomenal lap time while demonstrating both its potential as well as its reliability.

The three-cylinder Ford 1.0-litre EcoBoost was recently named 2012 “International Engine of the Year”. The turbocharged, direction injection petrol engine is now available in the Ford Focus and coming soon in the B-MAX, new Fiesta and C-MAX

The one-of a-kind, road-legal version of the latest Formula Ford single-seat racer completed the lap in 7 minutes, 22 seconds to register the 11th fastest time ever on the circuit – a performance that puts it ahead of a host of supercars including the 600+ horsepower Lamborghini Aventador, Ferrari Enzo and Pagani Zonda.

“This little engine has people rubbing their eyes in disbelief,” said racing driver and course specialist Nick Tandy, 28, who completed the drive. “It’s simply astonishing that a 3-cylinder, one-litre engine can deliver that kind of performance.”

Ford engineers have led several months of work on the project to switch the Formula Ford’s usual 180 PS,1.6-litre EcoBoost power unit with a specially tuned 205 PS version of the company’s new global 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine, which was recently named “International Engine of the Year”.

The project team also modified the vehicle so it would be fully street legal for on-road use by fitting it with wheel covers, front and rear lights and indicators, aerodynamically designed wing mirrors and a horn. The car is fitted with a 6-speed manual gearbox and was driven on road-legal tyres.

The car’s unofficial top speed is expected to be 255.5 km/h (158.8 mph) with a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of less than four seconds. The vehicle completed the 20.832 km (12.94 mile) Nordschleife circuit at an average speed of 169 km/h (105 mph).

The 1.0-litre EcoBoost powered Formula Ford car beat previously recorded fastest times of many supercars including the 700 horsepower Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, the 660 horsepower Ferrari Enzo and the 602 horsepower Pagani Zonda. No other three- or even four-cylinder car has posted a faster time at the legendary circuit.

“We wanted to prove that size doesn’t matter by showing everyone what an amazingly capable engine we have developed in the 1.0-litre EcoBoost,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president of Marketing and Sales, Ford of Europe. “What better way than by beating some of the best supercars in the world on the Nordschleife, while using a fraction of the fuel.”

While the 1.0-litre EcoBoost-powered Formula Ford car isn’t available to buy, the Ford Focus equipped with this engine is already proving a success with customers around Europe. About 30 percent of new Focus buyers in recent months have opted for the 1.0-litre EcoBoost.

In the Focus, the 100 PS version 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine delivers 4.8 l/100 km (58.9 mpg), and the 125 PS model achieves 5 l/100 km (56.5 mpg).* The engine also will be available in the all-new Ford B-MAX, and C-MAX as well as the redesigned new Ford Fiesta coming later in 2012.

Earlier this year, a Ford Focus equipped with the 125 PS 1.0-litre EcoBoost set 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) speed world records at the CERAM test circuit in France.**